For the certified action King of Malayalam cinema, 'RDX' was surreal. When he did Karate and used Nunchaku, he found himself transported back to the sets of his debut film, 'Chilambu'. The actor says he was the first actor to do fights with single and double Nunchaku. He also appreciated the youngster's dexterity in action scenes and said Sophia Paul was a producer who loved action. Excerpts from his interview with Manoramonline.
“It's been 35 years since the release of 'Chilambu'. 'RDX' fight scenes took me back to my earlier films. In ‘Chilambu’, there was a cold war between karate and Kalari. That was the first time someone was attempting Nunchaku in Malayalam cinema. I used single Nunchaku and double Nunchaku for the film. Then it was the original Nunchaku, not the one made with rubber-like we are using now. The Nunchaku I have with me is almost 45 years old and is there in my Houston home. I practised with that for the first one.
If you get hit with that one, it would be really painful. You don’t need to learn martial arts to spin a Nunchaku. While using it with martial arts, you can use it as a defence. Basically, there is a reason why you are spinning it, when it reaches a target it stirs. You are spinning it again once it remains static to finally take it under your shoulders. Then you shift it to your other hand to block it. I have seen people simply spinning it on reels. In martial arts, you can use it as a weapon. This weapon is used to ground paddy in China and Japan.
When I could use Nunchaku after so many years, I felt elated. I had kept it for a big-budget film as I didn’t want to expose it too much in every other film. That’s when I got an offer to act in 'RDX'. After all, this is the age of pan-Indian films. Now a big budget film is being planned keeping me in mind. So far I have done small-budget films like ‘Chantha’ ‘Kadal’ etc. In those films, they have used low-level cameras and techniques. But now technology has evolved so much. Now we have so many graphic-aided boat and helicopter chasing scenes in films. To be honest, I am waiting for such films. Till now I haven’t really been able to do an action film I had in mind. I am hoping that I will get better opportunities.
'RDX' was a fabulous experience. The new generation of children did a great job. Though they didn’t know martial arts, they learned it and did their best. Sophia Paul is a producer who loves action films. Nahas took some excellent shots. And the writing was also done keeping the mass moments intact. One has to especially give marks to Anbarivu’s superb action choreography. In fact, Nahas himself has said that they have delivered more than he expected of them. I was a bit worried that my brief portions would backfire in the climax scenes. But that was supported by everyone. There were more from my side but Nahas said that would leave the boys feeling inadequate.
If I get more films like 'RDX', I will be able to do martial arts more effectively. And hopefully, there will be more scenes as well. Because I don’t require more time to do action. I finished the climax fight in 30 minutes. Since I am well-versed in action scenes, I don’t take much time, unlike those who aren’t very comfortable with stunts. Hoping for more such films,” said Babu Antony.
